Nabeel Qureshi grew up in a devout Ahmadi Muslim family. He could recite arguments for Islam before he could drive. Then he met David Wood on a forensics team at Old Dominion University, and everything he thought he knew started unravelling.
Four Years of Honest Debate
David wasn't interested in winning arguments. He was interested in Nabeel. They ate meals together, studied together, and spent hours examining each other's sacred texts with the kind of rigour most people reserve for term papers. David would push back on Nabeel's claims about the Bible. Nabeel would challenge David's understanding of the Quran. Neither gave ground easily.
But here's what made it different from every internet debate you've ever seen: they genuinely loved each other. David prayed for Nabeel constantly. When Nabeel got sick, David was there. When Nabeel had questions at 2am, David picked up the phone.
The Cost of Following
Around 2005, after four years of relentless study and honest friendship, Nabeel became convinced that Jesus was exactly who the Gospels claimed. The evidence was too strong. The person of Jesus was too compelling. But converting meant something most Western Christians can't fathom — it meant losing his family, his community, his entire identity.
Nabeel counted that cost and chose to follow Jesus anyway. He wrote "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus," which became one of the most important books on faith and religious dialogue of the 21st century.
Gone Too Soon
In 2017, Nabeel died of stomach cancer at 34. At his memorial, David Wood — the friend who started it all — could barely speak. The friendship that changed Nabeel's eternal trajectory was the kind that costs everything and gives back more.
What This Means for You
Honest friendship is the most underrated force in the universe. Not friendship that avoids hard topics, but friendship that runs straight at them — with kindness, with evidence, and with the kind of love that picks up the phone at 2am. You might be David Wood to someone right now. Don't stop talking.